A 39-year-old Chinese national, Zijie Li, was arrested on trespassing charges after attempting to access President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, despite a court order barring him from the property.
Li, a student visa holder from suburban Los Angeles, was apprehended Thursday after arriving in an Uber at the estate’s entrance in Palm Beach, Florida, AP News reports.
Since Trump’s victory in the general election, a high-tech robot dog, along with a heightened police presence, has been stationed at his Mar-a-Lago residence, reported NBC News.
He had previously been arrested for similar offenses, including attempts to enter the estate earlier this year. Li is currently being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail.
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Li’s arrest follows a series of troubling encounters with law enforcement and Secret Service agents at or near Mar-a-Lago. His first attempt to breach the estate occurred in July, when he told Secret Service officers he had information linking China to a separate assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, AP News added.
After being ordered to leave, he was arrested a week later for trespassing, though he was released on bail with a condition to stay away from Mar-a-Lago.
In October, Li was placed in a mental hospital after approaching a local homeowner near Mar-a-Lago, inquiring about gaining entry to the estate. He was released from the hospital just days before his most recent arrest, which revoked his prior bail, according to the report.
This is not the first time Mar-a-Lago has been the site of unlawful entries. During Trump’s presidency, the estate saw multiple breaches, including two by Chinese nationals.
In one notable incident, Yujing Zhang, a Chinese businesswoman, gained access to the property in 2019 while carrying electronic devices, leading to suspicions of espionage. She was later deported after being convicted of trespassing, the report read.
Despite numerous security breaches, there has been no indication that these incidents were attempts to harm Trump.
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